The Art of a Presence Seen

I was invited to give the keynote address to the Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) biennial conference held at the University of Dallas in May 2001. The invitation came as a result of my curating an international exhibition, Anno Domini, Jesus through the Centuries, at the Royal Alberta Museum. 

This exhibition was my response to two matters. It was the second millennium of the birth of Jesus Christ, the name that anchors our calendar, and a name in which “millions bless and millions curse.” Teaching in religious studies over the three decades prior to the millennium it had become clear to me that the culture of amnesia had triumphed in our society and I hoped to provide, through this exhibition, the public (and my students) with a glimpse into the richness and centrality of “Him who is ever ancient, ever new” and what Christian tradition has meant to the foundations, mixed as it may be, to Western, indeed world culture. 

Jaroslav Pelikan (1923-2006) had written his marvelous book, Jesus through the Centuries, His Place in the History of Culture (1985) and I invited him to be the honorary curator. The eighteen “images” of Jesus Christ, each a chapter in Pelikan’s book, provided the frame for the exhibition as well as affording me the opportunity to meet and become friends with him. CIVA’s invitation to join hundreds of artists for those two days in Dallas was full of delightful surprises and I remain grateful for our time together.